Honor[2011 Rewind]
Traditions kept, we have always talked about past years in gaming. This
one is no different. From when we first started the site to now, we've always
kept the same structure and idea of rewinding. We always disagreed with
how magazines did their top ten games of the year, and this article has
been our protest to that since 1999. I chose`the new Rush 'N Attack game
as the descriptor to serve as a testament to this. That we've always supported
classic IPs and we always will.

Disjointed[Lost Planet 2]
Doing an article about Lost Planet 2 wasn't a priority until its
connections with Alien VS Predator came to form each time I played
it. A standalone article about just the game's mechanics and all that wouldn't
have been so urgent, but a side-by-side comparison article would. The reason
why is to show how so many of the games now were influenced by games of
yesterday that were "just another beat-'em up" or "just another
button-masher." For that reason, I continue my tribute to Alien VS
Predator long after I made its own tribute article.

Eco-Fiendly[Game Cases]
With the push toward one-world government, economy, and currency, nothing
is really worth what we pay for it these days. Even worse is how there are
companies who have apparently "gotten smart" by decreasing quality
and/or portion sizes while still charging the same prices. This practice
disgusts not just me, but you, your family, and anyone else who knows how
things once were. This doesn't just apply to videogames, but food, drink,
and everything else we use on a day-to-day basis. However, it has even infiltrated
video games, and that's a sad realization of how they're still considered
to be "child's play" by many, yet big business to suits in marketing.

GNG
iOS[Ghosts
'N Goblins - Gold Knights Series]
This was probably one of the most difficult articles to make because there
were so many different parts to it. Before any of the content really even
came to form, the design was already decided. We knew we wanted to do an
article on these games, and since we started with the screenshots first,
there were a ton of screenshots, but little to no content. Though essentially
a Gold Knights/Gold Knights II comparison article, Maximo
and other recent entries needed to also be in this article to bring it all
full-circle. Those games really show how Capcom arrived at their iOS efforts
for the series. This was probably one of the most difficult articles we've
ever made.

In
The Trenches (IV/IV)[N.A.R.C.]
This article was written on Thanksgiving Day to relive the memories. You
see, N.A.R.C. is a window into a not-so-distant time in American
history when illegal drugs weren't legal. From a time where you couldn't
just claim you were "in pain" to get a "weed card" for
the "green dispensary" down the street. This article is the fourth
and final in a series that looks at video games from the "War On Drugs"
era. The government has folded and failed in the "War On Drugs,"
so the series looks at how selected game heroes might fare in its place.
Always thought N.A.R.C. coverage was essential to my Straight-Edge roots,
and the article came naturally. This is one of the best, hardest articles
we've made...

Breakdown/Beatdown[Final
Fight]
The home revision of Final Fight is perhaps one of the most misunderstood
titles from the 16-Bit era. Single-player, enemy variation, and multiple-cartridge
medium are the main reasons why, and I always wanted to show the other side
of the coin. There are always two sides, but I've never seen any
review show that other side. Not even "fan" sites. The Final
Fight 2 article we did was a tribute in defense, while this one was
purely in defense. The design was inspired by our Final Fight 2 article,
and just like with that article, we still have the best screenshots.
We know this because we see bullshit sites out there that call themselves
devoted, yet their coverage and tribute come nowhere close.

Countryside
Gridlock [Soul
Calibur Legends]
This article too a long time to do. I knew this game deserved an article
to do it justice, and that we were probably the only ones capable of it.
The only question was how to do it, and getting it all together wasn't easy.
A few of the things that made it tough were the screenshots and motion control
descriptions. Describing motion control isn't easy for sword strikes and/or
combos, and describing the game as a whole isn't even easy. What
is it? A side-scrolling fighting game? A side-scrolling action game? The
game has so many attributes of both. We really needed to start recognizing
some of the quality Wii games out there, since apparently nobody knows they
exist...

Reverb[Street
Fighter II - Turbo: Hyper Fighting]
This article was a long time coming. The words came naturally, and there
was even a chance to talk about EGM magazine before they were ran
by frat boys. We haven't did an article on artwork for a while, so this
was one that needed to make the final cut. We always thought artwork was
important because it shows what's behind the games we love, and why we love
them. To me, this is the best artwork to ever come from Capcom's artists,
so I felt it was my duty to pay tribute.

Unholy
War[Super
Castlevania IV]
Digging through the classics of yesteryear, this one really stood out. Partially
because I had profound memories of playing it, and partially because it
reminded me of the holy war news headlines we see everyday. I started to
draw parallels, and it all came together quickly. The Belmonts and their
constant struggle against Dracula, and the looming expectation of his return
every time he is defeated. It's all very intriguing and the this game is
one of my favorites in the series. Aside from Castlevania 64, I don't
remember any other game in the series being as mind-blowing as Super
Castlevania IV. Though I appreciate the emphasis on style in the newer
ones, this is where it's at!

Framez[Fighting
Game Frame Analysis]
When SolSadGuy came up with this one, it was both funny and sad. Funny because
he approaches it with a light heart, but sad because people put so much
time into frames just to win more. True, frame recognition is something
that comes naturally with playing fighting games, but some players take
it too far. And that's what this article is about. Just an anti-type of
article on something that's been annoying us for a long time. The ultimate
question here is if games are even still games after slicing and dicing
them into mere numbers...

Laid
To Waste[Dino
Crisis 3 = Forgotten Worlds?]
When we talked about the "Devil May Cry 2 = Strider 2?"
article on our "Gaming Between The Lines" site, SolSadGuy was
pleased with the outcome. He's a hard-core fan of the Devil May Cry
series, so it was good to see that he noticed the different approach of
discovery. I was proud of that article and the unique points it made. Always
wanted to make something like it, but didn't have fitting content. A Dino
Crisis 3 article was pretty much written and done, but it just didn't
seem like it was enough to do the game justice. Enter Forgotten Worlds.
The more I played it, the more it all came together as it reminded me more
and more of Dino Crisis 3. It was definitely one of the harder articles
to write.

Freedom[Wii
Control]
I always thought the Wii didn't get enough credit for its various control
hardware options. It's sad how uneducated people are about the Wii, damning
it only to motion controls while elevating the PS3 and XB360 for having
orthodox controls. Did anyone even know about the Classic Controller or
the Classic Controller Pro? Both of these feel a lot more
comfortable than either stock controller on the PS3 or XB360. There
was a need for clarity on this, though, since it seems most sources on
it don't know shit. BADCP brought that clarity. My
favorite controller of this generation is the Wii Classic Controller;
it's comfortable and plays like a dream. There hasn't been a controller
this comfortable since the licensed ASCII Pad FT for DreamCast!

Uncooperative[2012
Buyer's Guide]
This article really speaks for itself. Buyer's Guides have been replaced
by "GOTY" sections on big media sites. Partially because of the
saddening reality that hardly anything is really on paper anymore, and because
"gamers" didn't support quality publications when they actually
did exist. Uninspired "Game of the Year" lists will never really
replace the old Buyer's Guides, though. Why? Even though they are somewhat
one in the same when you consider the sources, Buyer's Guides weren't so
narrow and shortsighted. It doesn't take long to see that nearly every site
out there has a "GOTY" list that is identical to every other site
out there. True, payoffs may have even been present back in the days of
Buyer's Guide publication, but it's really obvious with "GOTY"
stuff on the biggest sites you see everyday.

Bass
Drops[GameFly
Marketing]
The whole concept of GameFly had to happen sooner or later with the onslaught
of technology and somebody would have thought of it sooner or later. If
they can do it with movies, then why not with games? The foundation was
already there. The only problem is how GameFly aims commercials at "hard-core"
audiences they have little (if anything at all) to provide to. How can you
aim at the the "hard-core" without providing rentals for machines
that came out before the modern ones? I didn't see any older titles or import
titles when I saw their dumb commercials; none of the games they showed
were close to even what's "hard-core" by trendy standards! Change
the channel when the commercials come on. Don't support them.

Percussion[God
Of War - HD Collection]
Sony put a new coat of paint on some of their most iconic titles with the
coming of the HD era, and it was good to see. Especially with the God
Of War series. Even an HD re-release couldn't change design flaws that
kept the second game from perfection, though. And this article talks about
that second game. It was originally written way back in about 2008, but
it was never completed and the article really didn't fit with any of the
sites we did before now. It was structurally-inspired by the song "Stupid?"
by a band called Dead To Fall. It's the only article we ever did
that theoretically detailed development staff dialogue.

Stomps[Game
Stores In Japan]
This was another one from 2008 or so that got put-off for longer than expected.
I got sick of hearing about how overrated Japanese stores are. On the web,
everywhere. There are some that have gems behind the glass, yes. But, there
are some non-Japanese stores that sell rare games, too. This article was
intended to educate those who think they absolutely must take a trip to
Japan just to get rare game stuff. You don't. Take it from us; we've been
there.

Hand
Over Fist[Retailer
Magazines]
The title of this one describes just how much money stores like GameStop
make from you, the consumer, with their magazines.

Rise(n)
Above Hate[Koei
And The Manic Side-Scrolling Adventure Genre]
This one came about when I realized how Koei single-handedly pioneered the
manic side-scrolling adventure game genre. I never saw it mentioned anywhere
by anyone how similar it was to Cave and the manic shooting genre. Koei?
Tons of enemies, swords, and arrows. Cave? Tons of enemies, bullets, and
fire. Koei already merged with Tecmo, but if they had somehow merged with
Cave, they would have had both of the manic genres covered...

DLC[Downloadable
Content]
Downloadable content has been controversial aspect of the HD video game
generation. PurpGuy wrote what a lot of people have been thinking since
this generation began. Extra content? Or essential content? Downloadable
content seems to beg more questions than it answers...

Fills[2012
Buyers Guide]
I have tons of old, tattered magazines in boxes. I still use most of them
for reference and research (while exposing lies buried within). One thing
I never addressed, though, was the EGM's Buyers Guide. Every so often,
it came bagged with issues of EGM before they became fraternity-owned.
It was flimsy and probably ten-times smaller, but it did a better job of
covering games than the actual (EGM) magazine that came with it.
There were bits of commentary about some of the games, but it wasn't the
brainwashing, profit-machine juggernaut EGM would later become.

Bullet
Heaven[Cave
Mobile Shooting]
Shooting games have always been a staple of BADCP. After the article
list was decided, it seemed like there just wasn't enough shooting game
content. We needed to rep shooting games like we always have. Cave has always
been one of the best, and even after all these years they're still
strong. Strong-enough to venture outside of the arcade domain they made
a name for themselves with. Cave's growth was something I felt couldn't
be ignored. It needed to be acknowledged; especially in a world where bigger,
more known game companies have either went under, merged, or been too afraid
of growth...

Forward[At
The End Of The Day...]
With "Loyal To A Fault," the goal was to refine what we have
refined in the past, but to keep the complexity and stay simple. Parts
of "Hyper-Solid Straight-Edge Gaming," combined with "Gaming
Between The Lines," and "DIY Gaming With A Vengeance" can
all be seen in this site. We took inspiration from the older sites we
made to make the new site based on simplicity. Like the first Capcom
VS SNK game, or any Cave-branded shooting game, there is beauty in
simplicity.

In traditional BADCP
fashion, what was originally supposed to be a ten-article project turned-out
to be twelve articles, then fourteen, then eighteen, and then twenty,
until finally stopping at twenty-one. It was really a lot like our older
stuff; strength in sheer numbers! The number of articles had doubled,
and the site itself had actually tripled in weight. Some of the content
was done pretty early on, so we technically could have released it around
ten or so articles, but there were some pending works that just couldn't
be left out. We wanted to get some of the articles out as soon as possible
(especially "Breakdown/Beatdown"), but then there were time-sensitive
works we couldn't afford to put on a later site ("Freedom").
We chose delays over a future design/content clash.

Some wonder why we still
make everything in HTML web page format, and the reason we do so is for
the fans. Screenshot frequency is was higher overall than in previous
site versions, but the great thing is that anyone can view them because
of the simple design techniques we use. Making an elaborate, flashy website
with loading screens and tiny article spaces would alienate anyone without
a new, top-of-the-line computer or connection to run it all. We don't
have money, and there's probably a lot of viewers all over the world who
may not either, so we still keep our site structure simple (like it's
always been). Our sites even come up on 10-year old computers that can't
even run Google Chrome!

At the end of the day,
an elaborate, complicated design wouldn't fit the site content, either.
The main purpose of BADCP has always been to correct all the wrongs
magazines did before the onslaught of the Internet made them nearly nonexistent.
Though our sites have always resembled music albums more than typical
sites, we've always used magazine-style structuring to pay tribute and
speak the truth.